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Graf Orlock - Crime Traveler

The latest 30 minutes of aural assault from Graf Orlockare some of the heaviest tracks the band has ever unleashed. The combination of intense grind sprinkled with samples from movies is nothing new, but performed so well by Graf Orlock. Justin Smith's guitar work and lower register vocals are the constant highlight, and you can hear Smith's work with his other bands Dangers and Ghostlimb, who just put out a fantastic new record titled Difficult Loves. The lower register vocals of Smith greatly contrast but work well with the maniacal shrieks of vocalist Karl Bournze.

Graf Orlock has been known for extremely creative packaging for their most recent releases. Doombox was literally released as a foldout, cardboard boombox while their Los Angeles 7" was adorned with actual bullet holes throughout the record sleeve that were one of a kind. Crime Traveler comes packaged in a 12 page newspaper that features stories relative to the 10 song LP. "Bad Cell Service On Connecticut Avenue" is a punishing opener that explodes with blast beats and and sudden tempo changes to accommodate the various samples played throughout the LP. While previous releases had Graf Orlock pulling samples from various films in a specific theme, the band took it upon themselves to create their own samples to narrate the story of Crime Traveler.

I'd be lying if I said I paid much attention to any of the samples throughout Orlock's discography, unless it's the sweet Jurassic Park breakdown from their album Destination Time Tomorrow. Fans of cinemagrind will definitely be pleased with this, Crime Traveler is available now via Vitriol Records. Stream the album below:

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